It’s time now for the start of my 2018 Garden bird list 2017 showed most of the common British garden birds with a total of 34 birds, unlike 2016 where I had a few more unusual birds for a city garden and a total of 40.

Sadly Dystonia will mainly have me stuck at home again I am studying horticulture at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh to learn more about making my garden wildlife friendly. I may try and do a separate RBGE bird list as the gardens have a great diversity of bird species there and are fantastic to watch.

Kestrel – Feb 22nd – FOx2, only second time I’ve seen Kestrels over the garden.

Lesser black-backed gull – March 4th

Long-tailed Tit – Jan 2nd

Magpie – Jan 2nd

Oystercatcher – Jan 19th – FO

Redwing – March 3rd – snow on the ground.

Robin – Jan 1st

Song Thrush – March 4th – snow still on ground.

Sparrowhawk – Jan 13th

Starlings – Jan 7th

Wren – Jan 10th

Woodpigeon – Jan 1st

8 Species as of January 1st 2018.
12 Species as of January 2nd 2018.
14 Species as of January 3rd 2018.
15 Species as of January 7th 2018.
16 Species as of January 8th 2018.
17 Species as of January 10th 2018.
19 Species as of January 13th 2018.
20 Species as of January 16th 2018.
21 Species as of January 18th 2018.
22 Species as of January 19th 2018.
23 Species as of January 25th 2018.
24 Species as of February 3rd 2018.
25 Species as of February 22nd 2018.
26 Species as of March 2nd 2018.
28 Species as of March 3rd 2018.
31 Species as of March 4th 2018.
32 Species as of March 7th 2018.

I’m currently working on a gardening website that will hopefully be up and running later in 2018, it will obviously have a fair bit about wildlife, and the book Sammy The Shrew for sale which is raising money for charities.

2018 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results, Saturday 27th of January.
A very windy day, grey and over cast, yet warm. The first crocus of the year started showing today.

Like 2016 I sadly won’t be getting to do a lot of walking and birding away from my house, as I’m stuck at home most days I’ve been increasing the amount of wildlife friendly plants (I’d do this anyway even if I wasn’t housebound) in the garden and hoping that over time this will attract and help more birds.

I had a good garden bird list for 2016 – 2016 Edinburgh Garden Bird List – with the addition of the first Redstart I’ve ever seen, great to have a lifer in my garden! All up for 2016 there were 40 bird species I managed to identify. There were geese that flew over that I didn’t manage to ID and a few warblers in the garden very briefly that I also couldn’t ID, I will be training up on warblers to see if I can get them for 2017.

To attract birds to my garden, as well as gardening for wildlife when I can, I use RSPB food and feeders, find great products at their website, also great for gifts for nature lovers. I am a member of the RSPB and SOC as they do great work for UK and World birds.

2017 Garden Bird List, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK:

Blackbird – Jan 1st

Black-headed gull – Jan 1st

Blue Tit – Jan 1st

Bullfinch – Jan 4th

Carrion Crow – Jan 1st

Chaffinch – July 25th

Chiffchaff – August 13th

Coal Tit – Jan 1st

Collared Dove – Jan 13th

Common Buzzard – Feb 19th

Dunnock – Jan 1st

Fieldfare – Dec 29th

Goldcrest – Jan 7th

Goldfinch – February 19th

Great Tit – Jan 1st

Greenfinch – Jan 1st

Grey Heron – April 13th – FO

House Sparrow – Jan 1st

Jackdaw – Jan 3rd

Kestrel – May 31st – FO – think this is the first I’ve seen over my garden.

Long-tailed tit – October 14th

Magpie – Jan 2nd

Oystercatcher – July 13th – FO

Redwing – Jan 30th

Robin – Jan 1st

Rook – March 23rd

Siskin – April 28th

Song Thrush – Jan 4th

Sparrowhawk – Jan 7th

Starling – Jan 1st

Stock Dove – Jan 5th

Swift – June 18th – 3 days later than last year, I haven’t seen a single swallow this year.

Woodpigeon – Jan 1st

Wren – Jan 24th

12 Species as of January 1st 2017.
13 Species as of January 2nd 2017.
14 Species as of January 3rd 2017.
16 Species as of January 4th 2017.
17 Species as of January 5th 2017.
19 Species as of January 7th 2017.
20 Species as of January 13th 2017.
21 Species as of January 24th 2017.
22 Species as of January 30th 2017.
24 Species as of February 19th 2017.
25 Species as of March 23rd 2017.
26 Species as of April 13th 2017.
27 Species as of April 28th 2017.
28 Species as of May 31st 2017.
29 Species as of June 18th 2017.
30 Species as of July 13th 2017.
31 Species as of July 25th 2017.
32 Species as of August 13th 2017.
33 Species as of October 14th 2017.
34 Species as of December 29th 2017.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 30th of January 2017:

This year a few of the sparrows showed up, unlike in 2016: 2016 bird list and RSPB Big garden bird watch but of course more showed up just after I finished my hour. The highlight was the Redwing and the 17 Magpies. First Redwing of the year.

I was in for an operation on 30th of December 2015 and I probably won’t get to leave my house much again during 2016 (except doctor appointments). My generalised dystonia is getting worse and causing many more injuries. This year I figure I’ll just have a garden bird list, birds in the garden & above and only update this one post.

To attract birds to my garden, as well as gardening for wildlife when I can, I use RSPB food and feeders, find great products at their website, also great for gifts for nature lovers.

2016 Garden Bird List, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK:

Blackbird

Blackcap

Black-headed gull – first 100% ID February 18th – was mobbing a sparrowhawk.

Blue Tit

Bullfinch

Carrion crow

Chaffinch – first sighting 28th of January – haven’t seen one in the garden since 2014.

Chiffchaff – 14th of August 2016.

Coal Tit

Collared Dove

Common Buzzard – FO March 7th.

Cormorant – FO June 19th.

Dunnock

Feral Pigeon

Fieldfare

Goldcrest

Goldfinch

Great Tit

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Greenfinch

Grey Heron – Flying over February 19th.

Herring Gull – managed ID April 29th, landed to get the food waste bin opened by council workers.

House Sparrow

Jackdaw

Lesser black-backed gull – managed ID April 29th, landed to get the food waste bin opened by council workers.

Long-tailed Tits

Magpie

Oystercatcher – FO February 23rd.

Redstart – 1 male – first I’ve ever seen – April 20th.

Redwing – 24th of December – what a great bird for Christmas Eve!

Robin

Rook – April 30th.

Siskin – 2 females on feeders, first time I’ve seen them in the garden for 3 years, March 21st.

Song Thrush

Sparrowhawk

Starling

Swallow – FO – 15th of May.

Swift – FO – 15th of June.

Woodpigeon

Wren

22 (2 little ducks) bird species by the 18th of January.
23 birds as 28/01/16
24 birds as 30/01/16
26 birds as 08/02/16
27 birds as 18/02/16
28 birds as 19/02/16
29 birds as 23/02/16 – there have also been flocks of geese flying over at night and during the day, very high, not sure what type.
30 birds as 07/03/16
31 birds as 21/03/16
32 birds as 20/04/16
34 birds as 29/04/16
35 birds as 30/04/16
36 birds as 15/05/16
37 birds as 15/06/16
38 birds as 19/06/16
39 birds as 14/08/16
40 birds as 24/12/16

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 30th of January 2016:

Blackbird x 9

Blue Tit x 3

Bullfinch x 1

Carrion crow x 1

Coal Tit x 2

Dunnock x 1

Greenfinch x 6

Robin x 1

Song Thrush x 1

Sparrowhawk x1

Woodpigeon x 1

Snow on the ground and occasional showers of snow. 10.20am until 11.20am.

Odd that the usual flock of house sparrows wasn’t to be seen, there’s normally up to 30 most days, any time of day.
The Sparrowhawk was after the song thrush!

Merry Christmas everyone! I had 3 great birds in my garden today on top of all the other fantastic birds that usually grace the garden. Christmas day has often been a great time for birds in my garden as all the roads are quiet around here and more birds venture into the garden. Over the last 4 Christmases in this house it’s been getting better and better. no Blackcaps, redwings or fieldfares this year, but the 3 listed are pretty good in my opinion!

As I get ready to go in for another operation to end the year I’ve been trying to do a small amount of birdwatching when I can, I finally managed to add Wren and Song Thrush to my garden bird list this year.

The last few days we’ve had a wren around a fair bit and then today the Song Thrush showed up, very very happy with this bird being in the garden as it was drinking from the pond and moving around under plants that I’ve been trying to grow to encourage wildlife. The pond has been a great success for wildlife and draining parts of the garden, very happy after the dramas of making the pond. I also hope that the pond has helped prevent lower ground being flooded!

Greenfinches are also becoming a more common in my garden. After 3 and a half years in this spot in Edinburgh from having a few woodpigeons and the very occasional blackbird we now have blue, coal and great tits every day, a roost of house sparrows which get up to 30 in the garden at one time and woodpeckers and greenfinches at least weekly. We are also attracting predatory birds, I’ve seen a sparrowhawk and a kestrel in the last week.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen either, as someone that regularly changes out feeders with clean ones; I have a numerous stock of feeders people have given me over the years so I change the ones in the garden at each fill, I have hoped to get flocks of healthy greenfinches in my garden, but sadly there’s not a lot of them around any more and to see one is a highlight of this winter… erm I mean summer (don’t think it got above 12C here in Edinburgh today!) then to get 2 bullfinches as well it was pretty special.

Today’s birds:

Blackbird x 1 male

Bullfinch x 2, m and f

Dunnock x 1

Great Tit x 1 looked to be a chick

Greenfinch x 1

House Sparrow x 20+ including chicks very happy with that

Jackdaw x 4

Woodpigeon x 2

For those wondering about my dystonia I’ve been trying new medicines and looking at trying to relax more while thinking of work problems I find watching birds a great help as well as newts in the pond, fern leaves swaying in the wind and occasionally getting a loupe viewer out to view mosses, or just enjoy the carpets of moss that this cold summer has started to form, I never appreciated how much moss was a calming influence and great for people with brain issues like mine, it slows the twitching down.

Sorry it’s been so long things have gotten really bad with my dystonia and my hands have stopped working a lot, now managed to get tennis elbow from the shakes, it’s meant after work I can no longer garden, very frustrating as the weeds are getting a bit much. But hey-ho on the plus side I sit a lot more in the garden as still as someone with a tremor can, which means more birds come out of the hedges and trees.

Lately we’ve been getting bullfinches they’ve even been using the pond to wash themselves, great to witness, the sparrows are back some with young I gather they must be a different group that were nesting elsewhere as 100% sure all the nests were abandoned when my neighbour cut the hedge back.

Love to be gardening but am taking to the smaller and macro worlds of mosses, ferns and terrariums things that I hope not to need to use my arms as much and not need to turn heavy amounts of clay. Enough about that and onto the birds!

Sadly my neighbour’s obsession with clean lines has meant all the sparrow nests, probably 10 to 15 were destroyed. Now the House Sparrows have left as have the dunnocks, the last 2 days in the garden have been so quiet. It’s like it’s night time in the garden due to the lack of chirping and bird song. Very frustrating. Need to move from the city! Want a hectare with many hedges and wildlife spots, but my generalised dystonia would not let me take care of that much land, can’t even take care of .15 of an acre.

In good news, loads of newt babies and the Rook has been showing up a bit.

Today we had a great spotted woodpecker been a while since I’ve seen one. After my last operation my wife would set up a video camera watching the feeders so that I could see the birds whilst laid up in bed and she managed to get good footage of one. very impressed!

Don’t forget springwatch is back as is unsprung. You can see the live cams through here: BBC Springwatch very helpful for people laid up in bed!